Feb 16, 2024
My favourite genre of gay people is "They didn't have bdsm sex onscreen but, bdsm elements are always lurking in the corner and haunting the narrative through thinly veiled visual metaphorical implication."
seen from South Korea
seen from Japan
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Germany
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from China
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from Yemen
seen from Russia
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Germany
seen from United States
My favourite genre of gay people is "They didn't have bdsm sex onscreen but, bdsm elements are always lurking in the corner and haunting the narrative through thinly veiled visual metaphorical implication."
Watching Pyramid Game has convinced me that no genre does gay like straight k-drama thrillers. They got me with The Devil Judge, bullied me with 5-second sapphics in Squid Game, then 5 more second sapphics in All of Us are Dead, shattered me into a million pieces watching Weak Hero Class 1, made me question my sanity watching Bloodhounds, got me again with Beyond Evil, then tried to circle the block with 3-second gays in The 8 Show. I think Pyramid Game might be the show that finishes me off. I've never behaved like this in my life.
Like there's a real queer friend group of girls lying on a roof calling each other ugly. There's no better representation than that.
Checkmate
Summary: They said Baek Harin was untouchable — a tyrant in designer sweaters, a girl made of iron. But Park Y/N was proof that even empires could unravel.
Genre: slow-burn, angst, fluff
Word Count: 10.5k words
Baek Harin x fem!reader
A/N: this was the slowest slow-burn I've ever written in my entire life. also not proofread. pls enjoy
Everyone knew Baek Harin ruled Class 2–5 with an iron grip, her A-rank status less earned than inherited — daughter of the most powerful conglomerate family in the country. Untouchable. Feared. Worshipped. The kind of golden girl who never needed to ask for attention because the world was already at her feet.
Park Y/N was also an A-ranker. Her father’s business wasn’t quite as powerful as Harin’s, but it came close — close enough for both families to sit at the same elite table. Unlike Harin, though, Y/N wasn’t feared. She was respected. Admired. People actually liked her. Her kindness didn’t come off as naivety but rather as a quiet strength, a gentleness that refused to bend in a school designed to break. Y/N’s popularity was real, built on kindness rather than fear. But it made her a paradox in this school, didn’t it?
An A-ranker who didn’t act like one.
Y/N and Harin weren’t friends. Not really. They sat at the same tables but rarely spoke beyond what was necessary. They showed up to the same events, but conversations were always clipped, polite, distant. It wasn’t a rivalry, not yet. But it wasn’t companionship either.
Harin watched Y/N, though.
Whenever she walked into a room, Harin’s gaze followed. Not with the usual boredom or disinterest she wore for everyone else, but something sharper. As though she was studying Y/N. As though she couldn’t quite figure her out.
Maybe that’s why Harin started testing her.
Because even with all her control, Baek Harin couldn’t understand how someone like Park Y/N existed — and worse, how she remained untouchable by the very game she designed to destroy people.
But Y/N still voted in every round of the Pyramid Game. She had to. One missed vote could mean a whispered threat, a warning from Harin passed through a smile: “Your father wouldn’t want to lose our investment, would he?” So, she played along, even if she hated the game more than anyone. The most brutal part wasn’t the game itself. It was the dinners.
The room was warm, all low lights and expensive wine glasses that no one dared to drink from. Harin sat at one head of the long table, across her father, legs crossed like she owned the world — and in some ways, she did. Park Y/N sat two seats away, across from Kim Dayeon and next to Seo Doah, who barely glanced up from her plate.
Dayeon spoke first. “Another F-ranker tried to write an apology letter today. It was almost sweet.”
Doah didn’t look up. “They never learn.”
Y/N kept her face neutral, her fork gently pushing a piece of wagyu around her plate.
“She cried,” Dayeon added, her tone light. “At least it was entertaining.”
“I didn’t vote for her,” Y/N said flatly, then caught herself. Too defensive.
“No one’s accusing you,” Harin drawled without looking up. “You never miss a vote, do you?”
Y/N glanced at her, eyes sharp. “Wouldn’t dare to.”
That made Harin look. Her smile was slow and amused. “Good girl.”
Their fathers were deep in conversation at the far end of the table, laughing about some new deal, some merger, some expansion. But under that candlelit air of civility, the girls sat at their own kind of war table.
Dayeon chuckled at the tension. “You two are like fire and ice.”
“No,” Harin replied, eyes still on Y/N. “We’re just not pretending.”
It was an odd statement, and for a second, Y/N didn’t know what to say. But Harin turned away just as quickly, leaving the words hanging between them like a challenge.
It was a regular Thursday morning at Baekyeon Girls’ High School, the kind where the halls buzzed with hushed whispers and flitting glances — the Pyramid Game results always left a residue. Park Y/N, once again ranked A, slid her locker shut, already aware of how the day would go. She never missed a vote. Couldn’t afford to. Not with Baek Harin watching her so closely.
“Have you heard?” Yerim leaned in beside her, coffee in hand. “We’re getting a transfer. Mid-year. Bit of a mystery, isn’t it?”
Y/N tilted her head, amused. “They must be brave.”
By the time the first break rolled around, Sung Sooji had made her entrance. Sharp-eyed, oddly composed, and carried herself like she had nothing to prove — which instantly made her suspicious. Or admirable. Y/N hadn’t decided yet.
The incident happened just after lunch. Y/N was heading back to class when she saw the tail end of it — Jaeun, an F-ranker with a quiet demeanor, had tripped, her books flung across the stairwell. But the way two girls sneered down at her made it obvious: this wasn’t an accident.
One of them stepped on her notebook deliberately.
And then, out of nowhere, Sooji appeared. “Pick that up,” she said, her voice flat and firm. The two girls froze. “I wasn’t asking.”
Y/N blinked. She hadn’t expected that.
Before the tension could escalate, she stepped in too, crouching beside Jaeun and helping her gather her things. “You okay?”
Jaeun nodded, too flustered to speak. The hallway stared — no one interfered, but everyone was watching.
Sooji didn’t look back once as she walked off. Y/N followed at a careful distance.
The confrontation came hours later.
After the final bell, Y/N had only just packed her bag when her phone lit up with a message from an unknown number.
Classroom. Now.
She didn’t need a name. Only one person had that kind of presence in her life.
When she entered, Harin was already waiting — perfectly poised, arms crossed, gaze sharp enough to cut glass. The classroom was empty, quiet in a way that made Y/N’s heart pace slightly faster.
“You called?” she asked lightly.
Harin didn’t move. “You helped her.”
Y/N’s throat tightened. “Jaeun? She was being pushed around.”
“You think I didn’t hear?” Harin stepped closer. “Everyone did.”
Y/N raised her chin. “And what exactly did I do wrong?”
“You interfered. You made it a thing.” Her voice dropped, velvet and venom all at once. “You know how this school works. You don’t pick sides. You don’t draw attention. Especially not to people ranked low.”
“She didn’t deserve it.”
“That’s not your call to make.”
Y/N stood her ground, unwilling to look away. “And what — is it yours?”
Silence crackled between them like static.
Harin’s gaze flicked over her face. “You think you’re better than this school. Better than me.”
“I think I have to be better,” Y/N said, quietly. “Because someone around here needs to be.”
That did something to Harin. Her eyes flickered, the faintest ghost of something behind them — betrayal? Hurt? Or something deeper, unspoken.
“You always make me look like the villain.”
“You do a good enough job of that on your own.”
It could’ve ended there. But Harin stepped closer, dangerously close now — and for a moment, Y/N didn’t know if she was about to be kissed or shoved.
“You’re lucky your family’s name means something to mine,” Harin whispered. “Because if it didn’t…”
“I’d be an F already, wouldn’t I?” Y/N said. “You’d have me buried.”
They stared at each other.
But it wasn’t hatred that filled the silence.
It was everything else.
The sun had dipped just below the windowsill when Y/N found Sooji in the library, tucked into a back table with a textbook she clearly wasn’t reading.
“Figured you’d be here,” Y/N said as she dropped her bag into the chair across from her.
Sooji looked up. “I don’t like wasting time.”
“Not even to make enemies on your first day?”
A small smirk curved on Sooji’s lips. “Someone had to say something.”
“She always like this?” Yerim asked, sliding into the third seat at the table with her usual iced coffee in hand. “Bold. I like it.”
“I’d say reckless,” Y/N replied with a knowing glance. “But we’re not here to lecture.”
“Speak for yourself,” Yerim muttered, taking a sip. “Look, we just wanted to let you know… things are complicated here.”
Sooji raised an eyebrow. “Complicated how?”
Y/N hesitated. “Let’s just say there’s a… system. Unofficial. People act a certain way for a reason. The girls who didn’t stop that bullying? They weren’t just being cruel. They were following a script.”
“And I didn’t get a copy,” Sooji said dryly.
“It’s not one you want,” Yerim replied. “We’re just saying — be careful. Not everyone here takes well to disruption.”
Sooji looked between them both. “And you two? You’re… what, the exception?”
Y/N smiled faintly. “We survive. In our own way.”
There was a moment of quiet. Not silence, not tension — something else. Understanding. Unspoken truths left hanging in the air.
Just outside the library doors, Harin stood at the end of the hallway, unreadable.
She hadn’t meant to follow Y/N — not really. She’d told herself it was coincidence. She just happened to be walking this way. Just happened to glance through the glass and see her. Laughing. Relaxed. Sitting with Sung Sooji like she belonged there. Like she wasn’t tangled in things Harin couldn’t explain, couldn't control.
That gnawing feeling in her chest twisted again.
Jealousy? She wouldn’t name it. Not even in the safety of her own mind. She simply turned away, walked off without a word.
The thing is, Baek Harin never lost control. Not of her grades, her appearance, her schedule — and certainly not of her rank.
But lately, it felt like things were shifting. No, not shifting — slipping.
It wasn’t just that Park Y/N was helping transfer students and playing guardian angel to hopeless cases. It was that she wasn’t afraid to. That she didn’t need Harin’s approval yet still remained untouchable. Respected. Admired.
Harin stared at her phone, the Pyramid Game application open to cast her votes. Her fingers hovered over the interface, perfectly manicured nails gleaming under the flickering overhead lights. She had already decided who to vote for. But her mind was elsewhere.
Park Y/N. Always voting. Always good. But not harmless. No, there was something stubborn in her softness. Something dangerous.
She voted — a calculated F, knowing it would tip the next round into quiet chaos. A reminder. That no one was safe. That even admiration had limits. That even Park Y/N’s world could fracture.
And maybe… just maybe… she wanted to see how Y/N would handle it. If she would bend or break. If her benevolence could withstand the pressure.
Later that night, she received a message on her burner phone. An anonymous group thread — though they all knew who was inside.
Harin: Consider next week’s rankings a warning. Doah: You sound jealous Dayeon: or desperate Harin: I don’t need to be either. I just need her to remember who holds the strings.
She turned off the phone.
But it was too late. The thoughts remained, crawling under her skin like thorns.
She hated this feeling. Not being understood. Not being chosen. Not being needed.
And Park Y/N? She had everything Harin once thought she didn’t care about.
And yet, she couldn’t stop looking.
Another month passed at Baekyeon High.
The 13th Pyramid Game had arrived.
Doah stood at the front of the class with her usual detached elegance, arms folded neatly behind her back. “As always,” she began, voice like silk and ice, “the ranks must be chosen by the collective vote of the class. You cannot vote for yourself. Voting is anonymous.”
She paused. “The 13th Pyramid Game… will begin.”
Silence fell, and one by one, the students cast their ballots.
The results came out immediately after. Two names with 0 votes: Sung Sooji. Myeong Jaeun.
The atmosphere shifted instantly, the way it always did. Eyes narrowed. Whispers multiplied. Books “accidentally” knocked from desks. No one said it outright, but everyone knew what was coming.
By Wednesday, the torment had begun.
Kim Dayeon — as usual — led the charge. Along with Bang Wooyi and Gu Seolha, she would corner Sooji in the hallway, pour water all over her, or “trip” her during gym. Jaeun, quiet as ever, simply braced herself for it. She'd already learned not to expect help.
During break, just before lunch, the classroom buzzed with idle chatter — until a loud, shrill whistle pierced the air.
Dayeon stood at the front, smirking, lips curled like she was waiting for a game to start.
“Round two,” she muttered, stepping toward Sooji, who sat frozen at her desk.
Wooyi followed, and Seolha wasn’t far behind. The rest of the class stilled but did nothing. As always.
Dayeon reached for Sooji’s bag — but a voice cut through the silence.
“Stop.”
The word was sharp. Clear. Every head turned.
Park Y/N stood from her seat.
Dayeon tilted her head. “You and I are both ranked A. You can’t tell me what to do.”
The class held its breath.
But then a new voice joined in.
“I can.”
Baek Harin.
She hadn’t even moved from her seat near the back of the class. But her voice, calm and steady, cleaved through the room like a blade.
Her eyes didn’t move from the open book on her desk — but her tone left no room for interpretation.
The tension broke. Dayeon faltered.
“Fine,” she muttered, slinking back with a scoff. Wooyi and Seolha followed, each pretending they weren’t backing down because Harin told them to. But everyone knew.
When Baek Harin spoke, Baekyeon listened.
Later that day, as the sun dipped below the windows and cast amber shadows across the halls, Y/N stayed behind, seated alone at her desk. She hadn’t moved since the final bell rang.
She didn’t flinch when footsteps approached. She already knew who it was.
“You really like playing hero, don’t you?” Harin’s voice was low, unreadable.
Y/N didn’t answer right away. She simply looked out the window. “It wasn’t heroic. It was just… right.”
Harin sat across from her, uninvited but confident. Always confident.
A silence settled between them before Harin spoke again — this time, softer.
“Do you ever get tired of being good all the time?”
Y/N finally turned to face her.
“I don’t think kindness is something you run out of,” she said. “But I think loneliness is.”
Harin froze.
The words hit something raw.
She didn’t show it — not really. But for a split second, her expression faltered. And in that space, she looked at Y/N not like an opponent. Not like an ally.
But like someone who had just been seen — completely and utterly.
And she hated it.
The air was crisp, biting even, and yet the girls who gathered in a secluded area at school seemed unfazed by the cold. A pack of A-rankers loitered beneath the metal overhang — smoke curling lazily from a few lit cigarettes.
Baek Harin leaned against the wire-mesh fencing, eyes cold and far away as she toyed with a gold lighter in her hand. The reflective metal clicked shut, open, shut — rhythmic and sharp, like a metronome.
Dayeon exhaled a plume of smoke beside her, tossing her head with casual insolence. “Why are you stopping us from doing what we’ve always done?”
Harin didn’t respond.
Wooyi, slouched on the bench, raised an eyebrow. “You’ve been acting weird lately, Harin-ah.”
Seolha let out a soft, amused scoff.
Dayeon didn’t wait. She stepped forward, irritation barely hidden beneath her grin. “You do know this makes the game meaningless, right? If no one fears being F, if we can’t punish them, then why are we even playing?”
The silence that followed was heavy. The other girls watched Harin carefully — smoke twisting between them, like tension made visible.
Still facing the city skyline, Harin flicked her lighter shut once more and finally turned. Her voice, when it came, was quiet, but it held weight like steel beneath silk.
“Are you questioning me, Dayeon-ah?”
The way she said it — detached, almost amused — made Dayeon flinch. Everyone did. Even the wind seemed to pause.
Dayeon opened her mouth, but then shut it again.
That was the thing about Baek Harin. You never quite knew when you crossed the line — only that you already had.
She watched the other girl carefully for a beat longer, then turned her gaze back to the fading sky.
“Vote however you like,” Harin said flatly. “But if you touch them again without my permission, you’ll find yourself lower than F.”
The words hung in the air like smoke — acrid, impossible to ignore.
They all knew what she meant. Being stripped of protection from Harin meant social death, even for an A-ranker.
Dayeon, arms crossed, spoke up after a long moment. “So what, you’re playing god now?”
Harin didn’t answer. She didn’t need to.
Because in Baekyeon High, she already was.
The house was quiet. Actually, too quiet, for a place so grand.
Baek Harin sat curled up in one corner of her family’s vast living room, where the high ceilings swallowed sound and the chandelier glittered coldly above her. The only light came from a low lamp by the window and the glass chess board on the table in front of her — a luxury piece, all frosted panes and hand-carved crystal pieces that clinked delicately whenever she moved one.
White queen. Black knight. White pawn.
She wasn’t playing a real game. She just moved the pieces around in absentminded patterns — instinctive strategies drilled into her since she was old enough to sit at a board.
Her fingers paused over the king.
She was still thinking about Park Y/N.
Not in the obvious way. Not the pathetic way. Just… analytically. Strategically. Like Y/N was a piece on her board that had defied her move.
Y/N had seen her.
The moment played again and again in her mind like a curse. The way Y/N sat at her desk after class, shoulders squared and spine straight, but her eyes so tired. That damned line: “I don’t think kindness is something you run out of. But I think loneliness is.”
Loneliness.
As if Harin didn’t know what that meant. As if Harin hadn’t sat in this very room for years, with glass chandeliers and gold-framed photos and silent dinners with her parents who only cared about the family name.
Harin’s fingers curled around the white queen. She could still hear the whistle from earlier, still see Dayeon daring to talk back to Y/N in front of the whole class. And then—
She had intervened. She had told them to stop.
She — Baek Harin, the one who made the rules — had gone against her own game. Not to protect Jaeun. Not to save Sooji. But to silence Dayeon. Because the idea of someone like her speaking to Y/N like that — undermining her — felt wrong. Ugly.
Y/N was supposed to be like the rest — powerful, polite, pliant.
But instead, she’d spoken like she meant every word. Like Harin wasn’t just some untouchable tyrant of Baekyeon High, but a person. And she hated it. Hated how much it shook her.
She slid the white queen across the board, knocking over a black pawn.
Check.
Her hand stayed hovering. The board blurred.
She didn’t understand why it mattered. She had power. She had control. Everyone feared her, respected her, bent for her — even Y/N, who always voted. And yet…
Y/N looked at her like she wasn’t afraid. Like she was worried.
And that was worse. That was dangerous.
Because Baek Harin had been called a monster, a tyrant, a golden girl, an heiress. She had never been called lonely. But still, the words wouldn't leave her. Because if anyone had the power to make her question the system she ruled — make her doubt herself — it was Park Y/N.
And Harin hated that.
She hated how it made her feel.
She hated how it made her want.
One of Class 2-5’s privileges was the school trip, and the scuba diving session in the deep training pool that Baekyeon High had booked out for them was supposed to be one of the highlights.
Harin didn’t participate. She hated the water.
Not just because she couldn’t swim — though that was certainly part of it — but because of the lack of control. The depth. The stillness. The unknown. She stood by the edge of the pool in her dry clothes while the other girls splashed around in wetsuits and life vests, pulling off their gear after a long round in the pool.
She was looking down. The water was so deep she could barely make out the tile patterns at the bottom. It felt like it was staring back at her.
Then she felt two hands shove her back. Hard.
Her foot slipped on the wet tile.
She barely had time to gasp before she hit the water.
The cold closed over her like a coffin.
The surface above her blurred. Her limbs kicked wildly, uselessly. Water burned her nose, her throat. She couldn't breathe — panic spiraled through her chest as she sank, the weight of her clothes dragging her down.
Everything spun.
And then hands.
Hands around her waist, a firm grip pulling her upward. A flash of soaked hair, wild eyes, and soft lips pressed in concentration. Y/N.
Harin broke the surface with a violent gasp, choking, coughing water onto Y/N’s shoulder. Others were shouting now — Jaeun and Eunjong already jumping in to help, but Y/N was the one who held her up. Y/N who had reached her first. Harin clung to her like instinct.
When they got her to the edge of the pool, a lifeguard rushed in. She was hauled out, wrapped in towels, someone pressing something warm into her shaking hands. She wasn’t shivering. Just seething. She sat on the tile, wrapped in a towel, eyes trained not on Wooyi or the teacher. But on the crowd.
On the girls who did nothing. On Eunbyeol, Dayeon, and Doah — all standing there, dry, untouched, unmoved. And that fact burned more than the water in her lungs. She didn’t say anything. But her jaw locked so tight, it ached.
And then... her eyes landed on Y/N.
Wet, panting, water dripping down her temples. Sitting beside Jaeun, checking a scratch on her own arm from pulling Harin too hard.
And Harin hated the twist in her chest.
Not because she had been humiliated. But because Y/N had jumped in without hesitation.
Why?
The golden sky had already begun to dim, casting soft shadows across the open field in front of the hotel buildings. Patches of grass crunched beneath the girls’ sneakers as they huddled in scattered circles, the buzz of conversation rising in loose clusters.
Mr. Im stood in front, clipboard in hand, and let the girls form their own groups. The moment he finished speaking, movement erupted.
Eunbyeol didn’t hesitate. She slid herself smoothly beside Harin, looping an arm through hers like it was expected.
“Dayeon! Doah!” she called over her shoulder, waving them in.
The three of them gathered around Harin with ease, forming a tight circle.
Nearby, a few girls were already glancing toward Y/N — some out of curiosity, others out of expectation. It was obvious what was happening. These were the top-rankers, the inner circle. Anyone outside that circle could only watch.
Harin’s group was already half-formed, and most expected her to fall into line. She always had. There was space for her, right beside Harin, even if no one said it aloud.
But then Yerim looked up from where she stood with Sooji, Jaeun, and Jaehyung. Her brows lifted ever so slightly, and she didn’t say a word — just waited.
Both groups looked at her.
Harin didn’t say anything, but her eyes were locked on Y/N from the corner of her vision.
The silence was thick.
Y/N smiled — small, gentle — and began walking.
Not toward Harin.
But toward Yerim.
Her footsteps crunched lightly against the grass as she stopped in front of the group.
“Room for one more?” she asked.
Yerim beamed. “Obviously.”
Jaehyung whistled low as Y/N joined them. “You’re not comfortable with Eunbyeol, are you?”
Y/N’s only response was another soft smile, but it was enough. Yerim stepped closer beside her, giving her a knowing look.
Across the field, Harin said nothing, but her shoulders had tensed. She’d expected it. And yet, as she watched Y/N retreat, the sting felt sharper than she expected. Not because she felt abandoned — but because Y/N had made a choice.
And it hadn’t been her.
At night, the seashore by the hotel was transformed by moonlight — paper lanterns glowed gold and orange in the arms of the students who held them, ready to be released into the sky. A quiet hush had fallen over the group, broken only by giggles and soft murmurs as they scribbled wishes onto the sides of their lanterns with marker.
Y/N stood with Yerim, Sooji, Jaehyung, and Jaeun, laughing softly as she recapped Jaehyung’s scribbled wish — something about MONSTAX’s comeback.
Dozens of glowing orbs floated upward, illuminating the shore in a warm, weightless glow. The girls tilted their heads back, eyes wide as the lanterns danced into the night sky.
Everyone was looking up.
Except Harin.
Her group’s lantern lifted slowly beside her, glowing bright against the inky darkness, but she only watched it for a second. Her gaze shifted, drawn like gravity.
There she was.
Y/N stood at the edge of the shore, head tilted to the stars, lips parted slightly in quiet awe. The flicker of lantern light played on her features, softening her profile, catching in the strands of her hair.
Harin didn’t realize she was staring until Eunbyeol nudged her gently. “You’re not watching ours.”
Harin didn’t answer.
How could she explain that watching Y/N was more mesmerizing than anything floating in the sky?
How does she just… stand there and look like that?
She didn’t have the answer. And it infuriated her.
The school had rented out a paintball arena, complete with temporary cover zones and color-coded gear. The girls of Class 2-5 were divided into teams, but the rules were clear: whoever got hit at least three times would be gathered afterward for a consequence.
Predictably, the losers were:
Sooji, Jaeun, Jaehyung, Jiae, and Eunjong.
The five of them stood in a huddle at the center of the field, hearts pounding as Eunbyeol explained what would happen next.
“The prisoner’s dilemma. You’ll expose each other’s mistakes like this,” she announced, pulling the gun’s trigger to splatter a paintball on Sooji. “’You crossed the line by saying you’d get rid of the game.’ It’s over once you run out of paintballs. If you expose more of your friend’s mistakes, your chance of survival will go up.”
The rest of the class circled like vultures — waiting, whispering. Harin wanted a crack. A betrayal. Friendship getting shattered. Just so they could get an F-ranker to bring back the balance of the Pyramid Game.
Jaeun and Sooji exchanged uncertain glances. Jaehyung tried to laugh it off, but tension crackled in the air. Everyone was at a standstill for what felt like forever.
Then came Eunbyeol’s voice, sweet and sharp like a blade dipped in honey. She turned to Dayeon and whispered, “Harin’s sending you a signal. Do you want Baek Harin to go nuts again?”
Dayeon’s jaw tightened.
Whether it was fear, pride, or pressure — she snapped.
She stormed toward the circle, eyes locking on Jiae.
“You,” she spat. “Do you think I can’t come after you if you’re not in Grade F?”
Jiae stepped back, lips trembling.
“That’s enough,” Eunjong said, stepping in front of her. “This isn’t how we do this.”
Dayeon’s eyes flashed. “What are you, her bodyguard now?”
Eunjong shoved her and that’s when Dayeon lost it. She kicked Eunjong, punched her and picked her up just to throw her to a wall.
And in the middle of it all, Y/N moved.
“Stop it!” she shouted, pushing between them, hands raised. “You can’t just attack people—”
That was when Dayeon turned on her, rage boiling over. She shoved Y/N with both hands. Hard.
Y/N stumbled, slamming into the side of a wooden barricade, her head knocking with a sickening thud. She collapsed to the ground in a heap. She didn’t get back up.
The class went dead silent.
Sooji gasped. Jaehyung cursed under her breath. Yerim was already running forward.
But someone else moved faster.
Harin.
She shoved past the crowd, her face pale, controlled exterior cracking as she dropped to her knees beside Y/N.
“Y/N?” Her voice was hoarse.
She touched Y/N’s shoulder, shook her gently. “Hey. Wake up.”
Nothing.
“Someone call 911!” Yerim called out, frantic.
But Harin couldn’t look away. Her hands trembled slightly as she brushed Y/N’s hair out of her face.
“You shouldn’t have stepped in,” she whispered, voice nearly broken. “Why do you keep putting yourself in the middle of everything?”
Y/N’s head lolled slightly, unconscious but breathing. Harin pressed her hand to Y/N’s cheek. Cold. She turned her eyes on Dayeon, who was frozen in place.
“What the hell did you do?!”
No one dared speak.
“Kim Dayeon, you’d better pray she wakes up,” Harin hissed.
And around her, the class watched in stunned silence — because Baek Harin didn’t kneel for anyone.
Except her.
An ambulance was called in immediately to take Y/N to the nearest private hospital. She laid unconscious on the bed, a bandage around her head, the private suite lit only by the soft glow of a lamp.
Harin hadn't left her side.
She sat with her arms crossed, but not in her usual disinterested pose — more like she was holding herself together. Every time Y/N stirred, even slightly, Harin straightened with such tension it was obvious she’d been replaying everything in her head. Over and over.
The others had been dismissed. Dayeon, reportedly, was being handled — no one knew what that meant, but when Baek Harin said someone was “handled,” it was never gentle.
But none of that mattered right now.
Just Y/N. Just her closed eyes. Her quiet breathing.
Harin didn’t realize she was holding her breath until Y/N’s fingers twitched.
“Y/N?” Her voice cracked, soft. Fragile in a way no one would recognize.
Y/N groaned, head turning slightly.
Harin stood so fast the chair nearly toppled.
“Don’t move,” Harin whispered, hand hovering over her shoulder. “You hit your head. Idiot.”
Y/N blinked slowly. “You’re still here?”
“You jumped in a pool for me,” Harin said, voice uneven. “You think I wouldn’t sit through a little concussion?”
That made Y/N laugh a little. “You sound worried.”
“I’m not.”
“You’re lying.”
Pause.
“Maybe.”
Their eyes met for longer than they ever had before.
“I’m supposed to hate you,” Harin muttered.
“I know,” Y/N whispered. “I’m supposed to be scared of you.”
“I know,” Harin echoed.
A beat of silence.
“You scared me today,” Y/N admitted. “But not like before.”
Harin looked away, swallowing hard. “Then how?”
“You looked like someone who cared.”
Harin wanted to scoff. To say something cruel. To deflect.
Instead, she said, “I told Dayeon if you didn’t wake up, I’d ruin her.”
Y/N smiled faintly. “Did you mean it?”
“I never say anything I don’t mean.”
And that scared Harin most of all. Because for the first time, maybe she meant everything.
A week after Busan, things weren’t the same.
Not that anyone said it outright, but Y/N felt it. In the way hallways hushed slightly when she passed. In the way people stopped pretending that Baek Harin didn’t care about anything.
And Dayeon — once Baekyeon’s unofficial enforcer, the loudest voice at Harin’s side — now sat two rows back in class, B-rank sticker dull on her desk. She hadn’t dared look Harin in the eye since the trip.
Y/N hadn’t spoken to Harin much, either. But something had changed, and everyone could feel it. Like the power in the room had tilted just slightly — and for once, not everything was in Harin’s favor.
She should’ve been used to Harin’s eyes on her by now.
But ever since Busan, it wasn’t the same stare. It wasn’t cold or calculating. It wasn’t like she was being assessed for weakness. It was quieter, steadier. Like Harin was watching not for what Y/N might do, but for what might happen to her.
And that was the most dangerous part because it made Y/N feel seen in a way she didn’t know how to handle.
It started in class — during history, when someone made a half-hearted jab about Y/N “playing hero” in Busan. The words barely left the girl’s mouth before Harin, from across the room, turned slowly in her seat.
“Say that again,” she said, voice flat, sharp as a blade.
The girl swallowed her words and stared at her desk.
Y/N had just blinked. Harin didn’t even look at her afterward. She just returned to her notes like it hadn’t happened at all.
Then again, during gym, when Dayeon “accidentally” knocked Y/N’s bottle off the bench. Before Y/N could even bend down to pick it up, Harin was already walking over, silent and slow. Dayeon suddenly remembered she had to be somewhere else.
Y/N picked up the bottle herself. “You don’t have to do that.”
Harin paused before murmuring, “I know. But I want to.”
Y/N smiled faintly. “So that’s your thing now? Silent guardian?”
“No one touches you again. Not without going through me.”
“You say that like I’m yours to protect.”
The air shifted.
Harin stepped closer, voice lower. “Aren’t you?”
Y/N’s breath caught, heart a stutter against her ribs. She looked away. “You don’t own me, Harin.”
“But I’m starting to wish I did.”
Harin didn’t wait for a response. She turned and walked away — fast, like she’d said too much.
The heat between them had been simmering for weeks, and now it was crackling just beneath the surface.
They sat in the same room, both pretending to read. Y/N stared blankly at the words in her textbook, hyper-aware of Harin’s presence at the opposite end of the room.
“Do you always have to pick fights for me?” Y/N finally asked, not looking up.
Harin closed her book slowly. “They picked the fights. I just ended them.”
“You make it harder when you do that.”
“Do you want me to stop?”
Y/N hesitated. “I want to know why you’re doing it.”
Silence.
Harin stood, walked over, and sat down at the desk across from her.
“I’m not doing this for them,” she said simply. “I’m not even doing it because it’s right.”
She leaned forward, voice low.
“I’m doing it because it’s you.”
Y/N held her breath. She didn’t move, didn’t even blink.
“You confuse me, Park Y/N,” Harin continued. “You make me want to protect something I’ve spent years breaking.”
Y/N’s lips parted, but the door clicked open.
They both turned — and the tension dissolved like it had never been there.
Y/N wanted to say something, but she couldn’t. Not yet, when everything was still cloudy and confusing in her mind. So, she went to the place she always ran to whenever she needed time to think. Away from people, away from home.
She now sat on the rooftop bench alone, trying to make sense of everything. The door creaked again.
Yerim.
She sat beside her without a word, tucking her hair behind her ear before breaking the silence.
“So... how long has that been going on?”
Y/N blinked. “What?”
“Don’t play dumb. I’m not the one who nearly murdered Dayeon with my eyes when she bumped into Harin in the hallway.”
Y/N sighed. “It’s not what you think.”
“Oh?” Yerim smirked. “Then tell me what it is, because Baek Harin has never looked at anyone the way she looks at you.”
Y/N looked down at her hands.
“I don’t know,” she admitted. “It’s like she’s trying. Like she wants to be different. But I can’t tell if it’s real or if I’m just... a challenge.”
“Do you want it to be real?”
Y/N didn’t answer and that was answer enough.
Yerim leaned back. “Then you better figure it out before she breaks your heart. Or worse — before you break hers.”
A month after Busan was Baekyeon Group’s annual gala — a place where empires gathered and alliances solidified over toasts and false laughter. The luxurious venue with mountains views screamed a rather sophisticated ambience. Crystals dripped from chandeliers like falling stars, champagne flutes clinked, and the scent of money and influence floated heavier than the perfume worn by the city’s most elite.
Y/N had been to events like this all her life. Her father, a key figure in logistics and development, always made sure she looked the part. Hair perfectly pinned, gown flowing, posture unshakable. A model heiress.
But nothing could prepare her for Baek Harin, standing across the room in obsidian silk — sharp, poised, and devastating in a way that felt like gravity.
And the moment their eyes met, the world narrowed to a line.
Harin was surrounded — executives, board members, men twice her age falling over themselves to speak with her like she wasn’t seventeen. But her gaze flicked to Y/N, and stuck. For once, she made no move to hide it.
Y/N swallowed hard, offering a small nod before moving toward the refreshment table, past Dayeon in blood-red satin and Doah making conversation with a finance heir’s son. It was a maze of masks, all pretending not to be what they really were.
She was about to reach for a glass when a man she didn’t recognize — sharp suit, the unmistakable arrogance of inherited power — cut her off.
“You’re Park Y/N, aren’t you?” His smile was too slick. “The logistics princess. Didn’t expect someone so... unguarded.”
Y/N smiled politely. “That’s because I’m not a fortress.”
“Well,” he leaned in, “maybe you should be.”
She took a step back, but he matched it. Close enough to be discomforting. She glanced around, but her father was deep in conversation, and most others were too engrossed in their own egos to notice.
Then a hand curled gently around her wrist. Not possessive. Just... steady. Maybe.
Harin.
Her expression didn’t shift as she turned to the man. “She’s spoken for.”
The man blinked. “Excuse me?”
Harin tilted her head, that calm, unshakable frost in her voice. “I’d be more careful with your words. Your father wouldn’t want to lose our investment over something as stupid as a misstep with my guest.”
Guest.
Y/N didn’t have time to react before the man backed off with a quiet curse and a forced smile, disappearing into the crowd.
Still stunned, she stared at Harin.
“You didn’t have to—”
“I wanted to,” Harin said simply, already turning away.
But Y/N followed her this time.
The private lounge was quieter, darker — just soft classical music playing behind closed doors. Harin didn’t flinch when Y/N pushed the door shut.
“You’re confusing me,” Y/N said, breathless, like she’d been holding it in all night. “I don’t know what you want from me, Harin.”
Harin turned slowly.
“I’m trying to figure that out too.”
“You tested me,” Y/N said, stepping closer, voice rising. “You mocked me. You made me vote against people who did nothing wrong. I thought I was just a pawn in whatever game you were playing—”
“You weren’t.”
“Then what am I, Harin? Your friend? Your ally? Your... project?”
Silence.
Y/N laughed bitterly. “Because I don’t know whether you want to break me or protect me.”
Harin’s jaw tensed.
“I wanted to see what you’d do,” she admitted. “What someone like you would become if I pushed hard enough.”
Y/N’s eyes narrowed. “And?”
“I hate how much you stayed the same.”
Y/N faltered.
“I hate that no matter what I did, you were still good,” Harin said, her voice finally cracking around the edges. “I hate that when I needed saving, it was you. I hate that the person who makes me feel safest is also the one person I can’t control.”
Y/N took a breath. “Is that why you protected me tonight?”
Harin looked away. “I don’t want to see anyone else touch you.”
That stopped her cold. Slowly, Y/N walked up to her.
“You say things like that,” she whispered, “but you never stay close enough for me to believe them.”
Harin met her eyes again. And for the first time, she didn’t hide behind calculation.
“I’m scared,” she said quietly. “Of what you make me feel.”
Y/N didn’t speak. She just reached up, brushing her hand lightly against Harin’s hair.
“Then stop pushing me away,” she said. “Because I’m tired of guessing.”
It was another one of those cloudy mornings that made the fluorescent classroom lights feel even harsher at Baekyeon High.
Y/N was seated at her desk by the window, quietly annotating the reading for their literature class. Harin, in her usual place — one desk behind, a seat to the right — pretended to be reading, but her eyes lifted every so often, subtle and precise, like she was keeping track of the way Y/N furrowed her brow while thinking.
Then the door slammed open.
Kim Dayeon.
B-rank sticker still fresh on her desk, like it had been burned into her skin.
She hadn’t taken her fall quietly. There was tension behind her smile now, a bitterness in her laugh that curdled when it dawdled too long. Dayeon walked to her seat, tossing her bag down hard enough that a few people flinched. She didn’t sit immediately — instead, she walked toward Y/N’s desk, too casually to be casual.
“Funny, isn’t it?” she said, voice loud enough to cut through the hum of class chatter. “A girl like you, getting everyone’s sympathy. Jumping into pools. Defending losers.”
Y/N didn’t look up. “Did you need something, Dayeon?”
Dayeon smirked. “No. Just wondering when you’ll stop pretending you’re better than the rest of us.”
That got heads turning. Y/N’s pen paused mid-line. “I’ve never pretended anything.”
“Oh?” Dayeon stepped closer. “Then what’s your secret, Park Y/N? How does someone like you stay in Grade A, even after breaking the rules? Even after messing with the game?”
The silence in the room was immediate.
Dayeon’s smile widened. “Or maybe you just got lucky. Maybe someone made sure you stayed where you are.”
Y/N met her gaze evenly. “If you have something to say, say it.”
“I’m saying maybe you’re the reason I dropped and stayed at B.” There it was — the real venom. “Maybe Harin let you float while the rest of us sank.”
A breath of stillness.
“No.” Harin’s voice was soft. But it cut.
Everyone turned.
She hadn’t raised her voice. She hadn’t stood. But the room froze.
Dayeon blinked. “What?”
“I don’t need to justify her rank to you,” Harin said, turning the page of her book slowly. “Y/N didn’t drop you. You did that yourself.”
Dayeon’s mouth opened, but Harin didn’t look at her again.
“I suggest you sit down, before I start wondering why you’re still in B.”
Silence. Dayeon stiffened, then slowly turned and walked back to her desk, lips pressed tight.
Harin didn’t look up. But when Y/N shifted slightly to the side, she caught Harin’s reflection in the window — the smallest smirk tugging at the corner of her mouth. Protective. Precise. Quietly proud. Y/N bit back a smile.
And everyone else in class? They noticed. Because now, Baek Harin had picked a side — and it wasn’t her own.
“I’ve never seen Harin defend someone like that,” someone whispered.
“No. She defended Y/N. That’s different.”
“Are they—?”
“I mean, they always sit near each other now…”
Harin caught some of it — low murmurs trailing behind the girls in pleated skirts and navy uniforms. She didn’t react. Didn’t even twitch.
When the door finally clicked shut behind the last student for lunch, Harin spoke up.
“You should’ve said something back to her.”
Y/N looked up from her book. “I didn’t need to.”
“I know,” Harin said, finally standing. “But I wanted you to.”
There was a beat of quiet. Harin walked over slowly, her steps quieter than usual, almost hesitant.
“I didn’t expect you to step in,” Y/N said softly. “Not like that.”
Harin stopped in front of her desk. “I didn’t expect to want to.”
Y/N stared at her for a few seconds more before she looked down at her table and started packing her things. Yerim was probably waiting for her outside.
Just before she stood up, Harin cleared her throat. “Anyway, there’s a business thing this weekend. I was asked to bring someone. Usually Doah comes, but… I’d rather you did.”
Y/N raised a brow. “Why?”
“Our families work together. It won’t be suspicious.”
“That’s not what I asked.”
A beat.
“You’re not curious why I asked you?”
Y/N crossed her arms. “Are you going to tell me?”
Harin looked over at her, expression unreadable. “No.”
But then, softer: “But I hope you say yes anyway.”
Y/N didn’t reply — just stared back, long and quiet, until Harin had to look away first.
“I’ll think about it.”
The wind was cooler up at the rooftop. Late afternoon sunlight stretched golden across the buildings, casting long shadows that softened the brutal concrete edges.
Y/N sat cross-legged against the railing, a plastic drink bottle beside her, half-empty. Yerim leaned back beside her, eyes closed against the sun. A few feet away, Jaeun and Jaehyung sat on a blanket they’d brought up — apparently part of some makeshift “no thoughts, just vibes” after-school routine.
Sooji sat near the door, legs dangling over the ledge of the low bench.
It was quiet, peaceful even. For once, no whispers of rankings, of rumors. Just the faint chatter of students far below and the occasional rustle of wind.
“She asked you to go with her?” Yerim asked, popping one eye open.
Y/N nodded slowly. “To the weekend event. They’re visiting the orphanage to meet some kids since they’re opening a new playground.”
Jaehyung whistled low. “That's... intimate.”
“She said it wasn’t suspicious because our families are connected,” Y/N replied, and then added, “But I think there’s more to it.”
Jaeun just smiled faintly.
Sooji let out a dry chuckle. “Of course there is. Maybe it’s strategic. Or personal.”
Y/N looked down at her fingers. “So which one am I?”
That was when Jaehyung leaned back on her palms, tilting her head toward Y/N. “You don’t notice it, huh?”
“Notice what?”
She smirked. “She’s different with you. You walk into a room and she stops biting people’s heads off. Her eyes track you like a magnet.”
Y/N flushed slightly. “I—”
“She listens,” Jaeun added softly. “Only to you.”
Sooji crossed her arms, gaze suddenly sharper. “That’s what’s crazy.”
Y/N glanced up.
“People like Harin,” Sooji said, “they don’t change for anyone. They’re made of steel, not water. They bend for no one — unless they want to drown.”
Yerim nodded, sitting forward now. “If she’s changing for you, that’s not nothing. But you better be sure you know what that means. For her. And for you.”
Y/N was quiet. She looked out across the horizon — the distant sea just barely visible between rooftops.
“Do you think I’m in over my head?”
Yerim smiled, half-soft, half-sad. “I think she already pulled you in. Question is, do you want to swim or keep pretending you’re not underwater?”
No one spoke after that.
The sky burned a little orange, and Y/N sat there, quietly thinking about how much Harin’s eyes resembled storms — and how lately, they didn’t seem to scare her as much anymore.
The lights in Baek Harin’s bedroom were dim — only the floor lamp in the corner remained on, casting long shadows across the polished floor and pale walls.
Harin sat on the floor beside her low table, one knee tucked under her chin. Another glass chessboard in front of her gleamed faintly under the amber light, pieces mid-game from a match she never finished. The white queen had tipped onto its side, fallen.
She stared at it.
Usually, chess helped her think. It was clean. Logical. Cause and effect. Move and counter. But tonight, every time she picked up a piece, her mind wandered back to the classroom.
Y/N’s voice. Her smile when she didn’t realize anyone was watching. That unreadable look on her face after the invitation.
Harin didn’t know what to do with it.
Her fingers hovered over the knight, then stilled.
She probably told Yerim and Sooji, she thought. They’re probably warning her by now.
That should have made her angry.
It didn’t.
It made her stomach twist.
What was she doing?
She had invited Y/N like it was nothing, like it was expected. But it wasn’t. Nothing about this had been normal.
Ever since that damn school trip.
The way Y/N had jumped into the pool without hesitation. The way she had smiled gently at Jaehyung when she chose her roommates — chose someone else. The way she had stood between Dayeon and Eunjong like she didn’t care what the game demanded.
And the way she had collapsed.
Harin’s hands clenched on her knee.
She hadn’t meant to care. She had meant to break her — test her like she tested everyone.
But Y/N never broke. She bent, again and again, but she never broke.
And now Harin was the one unraveling.
She pushed herself up abruptly, pacing across the room, arms crossed, her thoughts louder than her footsteps.
Should I talk to her?
She imagined the conversation.
“Stop being nice to everyone. It makes me want to set the world on fire.”
No. That was psychotic.
“Don’t smile at Jaehyung like that.”
Even worse.
“Are you doing this to me on purpose?”
Too desperate.
She stopped pacing, back to the window.
For the first time in her life, Baek Harin didn’t know what to say.
Not to a rival. Not to an opponent. Not even to a threat. But to someone who had started mattering in ways she never gave permission for. And she hated it.
It was another Monday morning at Baekyeon High. The hallways buzzed with the low chatter of students, but Harin heard none of it.
She stood just outside Class 2-5’s door, fingers brushing her sleeve as she stared through the small glass panel in the frame. Y/N was already at her desk, talking softly with Yerim and Sooji. She looked calm. Comfortable.
Untouched by the war Harin had been waging with herself all weekend.
She had come here to talk.
But now that she stood there, watching the way Y/N’s lips curved into a smile — soft, sincere, never for show — the words slipped from her grasp like water.
What would she even say?
“You make me feel like I’m not the one in control anymore”?
No.
“Stop making me want to be good”?
Pathetic.
A sharp voice pulled her attention.
“Harin-ah,” Eunbyeol called, walking up with Doah and Dayeon. “Aren’t you coming in?”
Harin looked at her. “You go ahead.”
The three girls glanced at one another — unsure what she was doing, but not brave enough to question it out loud. They filed into the classroom while Harin stayed.
Y/N’s head lifted slightly as the door opened, eyes scanning the new arrivals — and for a moment, her gaze flicked toward the door.
Their eyes met. Only for a second. And in that second, Harin felt everything she hadn’t said clench in her throat.
Y/N offered her the faintest nod, polite but unreadable, before turning back to her conversation.
Harin stared for a moment longer. Then turned and walked away.
The weekend’s event wasn’t the usual glossy, high-profile gala that their fathers attended in pressed suits. There were no champagne flutes or velvet carpets. Just the gravel crunching under their shoes and the bright, painted arch of a brand-new playground entrance.
The Baekyeon Group was sponsoring the opening of a new playground and library wing at the children’s orphanage. Press would be there. So would some executives. But most of all, children.
Harin had asked her to come. Hidden behind a business pretense. Y/N knew better, but still, the doubt pressed at the back of her mind. She had meant to tell Harin her answer to the invitation, but the morning she planned to, Harin had walked away and skipped school entirely. Special workshop, they said.
Now, they stood together in the courtyard, matching beige overcoats shielding them from the late morning breeze.
The children were already running toward the swings, laughing, bright-eyed. One of them tugged at Y/N’s hand — a little girl with ink-stained fingers and uneven pigtails.
“Unnie, do you want to push me?”
Y/N smiled. “Of course.”
As she walked off, Harin stood still.
Her grandmother was giving a statement to the local press. Their fathers were shaking hands in the background.
But Harin only watched Y/N.
The way her hair caught the sunlight. The way she crouched beside the kids without hesitation. The way her smile was never forced.
An assistant stepped beside Harin. “Ms. Harin, should we proceed with the photo ops?”
Harin barely glanced at her. “In a minute.”
She kept her gaze on Y/N.
And for the first time in a long time, she didn’t care who saw her doing it.
The laughter outside was still echoing faintly through the windows, but the library was a world apart — quiet, warm, dust motes drifting through golden light as it filtered through sheer curtains.
Y/N stood near the small bookshelf in the far corner, fingers brushing the spine of a weathered fairy tale collection. Her coat was folded over her arm, a single yellow crayon mark trailing down her sleeve where one of the kids had hugged her too tightly.
She didn’t mind.
“Thought I’d find you here,” Harin’s voice came from the doorway, soft but distinct.
Y/N didn’t turn around at first. “Not hiding. Just needed a little silence.”
“I know.”
Harin stepped inside, closing the door gently behind her. The hush settled heavier between them now, like even the dust didn’t want to move.
Y/N finally looked at her, one brow raised. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
Harin stilled.
“That morning,” Y/N continued, “you were at the door. You didn’t come in.”
“…You saw that?”
“I always see you.”
Harin’s mouth opened, then closed. She walked slowly to the table at the center of the room and trailed her fingers across the back of a small chair.
“I wanted to say something.”
“Then why didn’t you?”
Harin was quiet. Her fingers tensed.
“I didn’t know what would come out.”
Y/N moved closer, slowly, until they stood on either side of the table, only the wood separating them.
“I’m not asking you to figure everything out in one day, Harin,” Y/N said, voice lower now. “But if you’re going to invite me into your world… don’t keep slamming the door shut once I step through.”
Harin didn’t meet her eyes, not right away.
“You make me forget how I used to be,” she said finally, so quiet it was barely audible.
Y/N blinked.
“You don’t even try, but you ruin my composure. You scare me. Not because I hate you — but because I think you’re the one person I can’t twist.”
Y/N’s breath caught.
Harin looked up now, gaze sharp but vulnerable. “You keep standing there — and I keep choosing you without knowing how to stop.”
Silence.
Then Y/N stepped around the table.
And when she got to Harin, she didn’t say anything. She slowly reached up as her gaze lowered from the taller girl’s eyes and settled to fix Harin’s collar.
For a second, Harin didn’t move.
But then her hand reached up and curled slowly, deliberately, around Y/N’s.
A quiet victory.
No titles. No ranks. No thrones.
Just two girls, suspended in a borrowed moment between who they were and who they were becoming.
Harin never came up the school’s rooftop. It wasn’t exactly her domain — quiet, slightly chaotic, and usually filled with sunlight.
But today, Yerim, who had asked her to come, perched on the ledge, legs dangling over the side with a juice pouch in hand as Harin approached.
“What,” Harin asked flatly, “are you going to push me off?”
Yerim sipped her drink and didn’t look at her. “Tempting.”
Harin stood beside her, arms crossed, waiting.
Yerim finally turned, “You’re being obvious.”
Harin didn’t answer.
“You used to walk through fire and make it look like a dance,” Yerim said. “Now you blink weirdly whenever Y/N talks.”
A muscle in Harin’s jaw twitched.
“You keep hovering. You softened when she was sick. You defended her. You invited her and I know you held her hand.”
Harin looked away.
“So what is it?” Yerim asked, voice quieter. “What are you doing to her?”
Harin didn’t flinch this time.
“That’s the wrong question,” she said. “The question is what she’s doing to me.”
Yerim frowned, “And what is she doing?”
“Undoing me,” Harin murmured. “Everything that I am.”
The wind blew a strand of hair across Yerim’s cheek. She brushed it away slowly.
“You know if you break her, I won’t just sit still.”
“I’m not trying to break her anymore,” Harin said.
Yerim’s eyes sharpened. “Then what are you trying to do?”
Harin looked out at the school grounds below, where students were walking to the gym for afternoon drills.
“I’m trying,” she said, “to figure out how to deserve her.”
Lately, everything felt like it came with a second layer.
When Y/N entered the classroom, she felt eyes flicker to her — not as harshly as before, but differently. With curiosity. With something like calculation. Like they were trying to figure her out all over again.
She wasn’t used to being talked about. Not like this.
Not as Harin’s person.
It had started after the charity event. First with a few stares. Then whispered comments in the halls. One girl even stopped her to ask, “Did you really go with Baek Harin to that orphanage thing?”
Y/N had smiled politely. “It was a family event.”
A technical truth.
But it didn’t explain why Harin had waited for her to arrive. Or the way Harin had pulled her coat over her shoulders when the wind picked up. Or how Harin had held her hand in the library — steady and deliberate, like she had just made a decision.
Y/N had spent the next three days pretending it didn’t rattle her.
But it did.
Because if Harin was changing, then Y/N didn’t know where to place her anymore.
Was she still the girl who played to keep herself in Rank A? The one who watched classmates fall and said nothing?
Or was she now the one who showed up early to class, who let Y/N speak freely in debates without cutting her off, who made Dayeon shut up in front of everyone?
Y/N didn’t know and that scared her.
Because it meant Harin wasn’t predictable anymore. It meant… she might actually care.
Her pen paused mid-sentence in her notes as Yerim’s open notebook slid across her desk.
She’s looking again. Don’t smile. It’s killing her.
Y/N rolled her eyes, fighting a grin.
She didn’t turn to check.
But when she reached up to brush her hair behind her ear, she felt it — the heat of a gaze boring into the back of her neck.
The sky had dulled into late afternoon grey, the air heavy with the stillness that comes after a long day of classes. The back courtyard, usually empty by this time, held the quiet shuffle of someone staying too long where they didn’t want to be found.
Y/N had gone back to retrieve a forgotten notebook, but paused when she heard the click of a lighter.
Rounding the corner, she saw her.
Baek Harin. Sitting on the low ledge by the courtyard steps, one leg bent, a cigarette burning between her fingers.
Smoke curled lazily into the air.
It was the first time in a while Harin had let herself slip — no mask, no posture, just tired.
Y/N stood for a moment, unseen.
Then walked over and plucked the cigarette from Harin’s hand.
Without flinching, she dropped it and crushed it under her shoe.
“That’s not good for you,” Y/N said calmly.
Harin didn’t blink. “Neither are a lot of things I do.”
“But you’re trying not to be that girl anymore, right?” Y/N added, quieter.
Harin looked away. “Trying isn’t always enough.”
Y/N stood beside her now, close but not touching.
“You keep doing this,” she said. “You save me from Dayeon. You ask me to come with you to events. You look at me like I’m the only one in the room…”
Harin stayed silent.
“But then you shut down. You don’t say anything.”
A pause.
“What do you really want from me, Harin?”
That did it.
Harin looked up, and for once, she didn’t have her usual cold armor on. Just tired eyes and something raw beneath them.
“I want you to stay,” she said. “Even though I don’t deserve it.”
Y/N’s heart stuttered.
“I want you to see every terrible part of me and still… not leave,” Harin continued, voice rougher now. “And I hate that I want that from you.”
“You think I don’t see you?”
“I think you see too much of me.”
The wind rustled the leaves above them.
Harin looked down at her hands, then back at Y/N.
“I’ve never said this to anyone,” she said, voice barely above a whisper. “But I think I’m in love with you.”
Y/N didn’t speak. Her expression didn’t crack.
So Harin kept talking.
“I’ve loved you since you ruined everything I thought I understood about kindness. Since you saved me when no one else did. Since you looked me in the eye like I wasn’t someone to fear.”
“You’ve been cruel to me,” Y/N said softly.
“I know.”
“You’ve played with people’s lives.”
“I know.”
Y/N stepped forward. “And yet you’re the first one who ever made me feel like being good mattered. Like it could change something.”
Silence again.
And then, slowly, Y/N took Harin’s hand.
The next Pyramid Game announcement came faster than expected.
Doah stood at the front, phone in hand.
“The 15th Pyramid Game will begin—”
“I’m not voting.”
All eyes turned.
Baek Harin stood at her desk, arms crossed.
Dayeon’s head whipped toward her, stunned. “Excuse me?”
“I said, I’m not voting.”
The room froze. Whispers started circling, confused looks pointed towards Harin.
“Anyone who doesn’t vote gets an automatic F,” Doah said coolly.
“I’m aware.”
She met Y/N’s gaze across the room.
And smiled — a real one this time. Soft and grounded.
“I’m done playing this game.”
A week later, there was obvious change in Class 2-5. Everyone remained cautious, not daring to touch Harin even if she had given up on her own game.
The rooftop was quiet. The cherry trees had just begun to bloom, petals drifting in the soft spring air.
Y/N leaned her head against Harin’s shoulder as they sat on the ledge, legs dangling.
“I still can’t believe you didn’t vote.”
“I still can’t believe you thought I would.”
Y/N chuckled. “You really gave up your rank for me?”
“I’m willing to give up everything for you.”
Y/N looked at her, lips curled into a smile.
“You’re dramatic.”
Harin leaned in closer. “You love it.”
“I’m still deciding.”
Harin laughed and it was the first time she’d done so without bitterness in her voice.
She turned to face her, tucking a strand of Y/N’s hair behind her ear.
“You were never mine to ruin,” Harin whispered. “But if you’ll let me… I want to be yours to fix.”
Y/N leaned in, brushed their foreheads together.
“You’re not broken, Harin.”
Their fingers laced together, and for once, there were no games left to play.
Only truth.
Only them.
A/N: I definitely had to rewatch a few eps to refresh my memory (and for harin)
same genre
alternative ending
I think pyramid game and surviving romance is peak wlw media out there I still think about them even now. Suji is living her best life with her wife and that is enough for me.
Rank F
Summary: Baekyeon Girls High School isn’t your typical day-to-day high school. We run in a voting game system of A - F rank where the students get to vote for their classmates on an app called Pyramid Game. The more votes you get, the higher you will rank. Level A students have power over students while F is the opposite. I accepted the offer letter to go to this school without thinking deeply. Level A student, Baek Harin is there to protect me in exchange for myself. Would I be able to escape this messed-up game or fall helplessly?
Warning(s): Bullying, Hitting, Threats, Guilt, Emotional Manipulation, Overstimulation, Smut, Fingering, Oral, Sub!Reader, slight exhibitionism, slight praise kink
Word Count: 7.2k
-
I shift uncomfortably on the single-cushion couch. I glance around the office, examining the architecture and interior. Compared to my current school, this one is much better. It is clear that whoever owns this school is rich. I clench onto my offer letter.
“Ahem,” The head chief clears her throat. I snap my attention back to her. She holds her hands together on the desk and smiles.
“Thank you for being patient with our meeting time. My schedule has been hectic, but I am glad we agreed on a day. Now, what is the question you have been asking?” She questions. I unfold the letter and place it on her desk. She tilts her head to the side as she reads the message. Her eyebrows lift with a delighted hum.
“You have been offered to go to Baekyeon Girl’s High School,” She beams. I blink at her in confusion. She continues smiling as she waits for me to speak.
“But I didn’t do anything to get this offer,” I explain. She purses and puckers her lips.
“Well, you see… This is a special offer letter,” She points at the signature on the bottom of the letter, “The president must have heard good things about you which resulted in you receiving an offer letter.”
“Who would tell the president about me? I don’t know anyone who goes here,” I try not to sound tense.
“There are many students that go to this school, I am afraid I can’t figure that out. But whoever requested for you must have done a good job influencing the president,” She chirps. She brings her hands over to the cup of pens. She plays around with it a little.
“Are you interested in taking the offer?” She asks with a calm voice. I look down at the letter, deep in thought. I have heard good things about Baekyeon Girls High School. Most of the high-power parent’s daughter goes here. If I go to this school, I may have a chance to become friends with them. It sounds selfish, but this is where I can network. What if I meet one of their parents? My mind buzzes with future opportunities that I might receive.
“Yes.”
-
I nervously brush my uniform: classic white button-up, black tie, and a long black skirt. Today is the first day of attending this school. The head chief offers to walk me to my classroom. The walk is quite longer than I expected. The classroom is on the far left of the building. I glance around and notice how quiet the halls are. She stops in front of a door and turns to face me.
“This is the room. You know where to find me if you have any more questions. Welcome to Baekyeon Girls High Y/n,” She smiles and leaves me. I nervously gulp while staring at the door. I feel small compared to the door all of a sudden. I slide the door open which causes all the students to pause and stare. I anxiously walk over to the professor. I give him the slip of paper. As he reads the paper, I quickly glance around the room. My eyes stop at a figure I recognize. I widen my eyes. It’s Baek Harin. Our history is not much. She’s a regular customer at a restaurant I worked at. I quit a few months ago.
“New student huh?” The professor says. I nod my head. He gestures toward the girls and looks at me bored.
“Well, introduce yourself,” He sighs. I lift my head higher and clench my fist.
“Hello everyone. My name is Y/n L/n. Please treat me well,” I announce while bowing my head. He looks around the room and hums.
“I guess you can sit in the back with Sooji-”
“She can sit with me,” Harin cuts. I look at her confused. There is already another girl sitting next to her. The girl looks at Harin in shock, but Harin remains emotionless. She turns her head to face the girl.
“Move,” She snaps.
“B-but,”
“Do I have to repeat myself?” Harin smiles coldly. The girl looks like she’s about to cry as she gets up from her seat. The classroom remains silent beside the sound of the girl gathering all her stuff in a hurry. I wonder how Harin has so much authority over the students. Is there a power system happening in class? Once she leaves to sit in the back, Harin turns her attention to me.
“You can sit with me,” She suggests, but it sounds more like a demand. My feet automatically move in her direction and she smiles brightly. I take a seat next to her and I get a sniff of her perfume. She smells good. There is also a hint of something I can’t place my finger on. Maybe cigarettes? That’s not possible though. How can a pretty angel-looking girl like her smoke?
“Thank you,” I whisper to her. She nods her head happily and then returns her attention to the professor. I look around the room and notice all the students staring at me besides Harin. I snap my neck away from them. From the corner of my eyes, I can observe her more. Her brushed and slightly curled hair catches my attention. It looks so soft. My eyes lowered to look at her long and black eyelashes. She flutters them slowly, expressing she's paying close attention to the lesson. My eyes dip to her lips. They are so plump, glossy, and pink. Her lips curve into a small smile suddenly. I glance up to catch her looking at me in the corner of her eye. Embarrassment blossoms on my cheeks and I avert my attention to my textbooks.
It took a while, but the lesson finally ended. I lean back onto my chair to stretch a little. Harin turns her body to me and rests her chin on the palm of her hand. Her eyes glint with muse.
“I placed you as grade A,” She starts. I furrow my eyebrows in confusion.
“A?”
“Yes. You are welcome. No one is going to hurt you as long as you’re here with me,” She explains. I decide not to question. I didn’t understand, but as long as I’m with her I would be okay. I slowly nod my head. She giggles and leans closer to my bubble like she’s testing how far she can go. I notice but I don’t move. She drags her tongue on her lips and I foolishly watch. She puckers her lips out in expression.
“How did you hear about this school?” She asks.
“I got an offer letter… and I accepted it,” I cut it short. She nods her head playfully.
“Who do you think requested you to come?” She teases. It didn’t take long for me to realize she was the one who requested me. My eyebrows arch up in confusion. I didn’t understand why Harin would request me to come to her school. Why is it now that she wants to get close? I hear her chuckle which brings me out of my thoughts.
“Why would you do that?” I question. She bursts my bubble by leaning into my ear.
“Because I think you’re cute. Have I ever told you that?” Her mouth brushes lightly against my earlobe. My hands clench. I avert my eyes down and feel my cheeks blushing shamefully. I hate how much she makes me react with little knowledge of her. The way my stomach feels makes me shaky. I tap my feet anxiously. She notices my obvious reaction and smiles.
“When you quit your job I got so sad. I searched everywhere for you. Once I found you I wanted you to go to the best school there is… which is here. Will you show your gratitude to me?” She hums. She places her cold hand on my upper thigh, halting my movement. I snap my head towards her with widen eyes. She beams happily with a curious glare in her eyes. I shake my head no. She dares by moving her hands higher, nearly touching my panties. I abruptly stand from my seat, squeaking my chair backward. My breathing is heavy as if I am a mad woman. My classmates stare at me in surprise while Harin smirks and leans back in her chair. I avert my eyes to the door. I need to escape. The only place to excuse myself is the bathroom. I shuffle my feet quickly to get out. I made a mistake by accepting the letter. Harin sighs and tilts her head towards the window. The blue sky is clear.
“Fun,” She grins.
-
It has been a week since that happened and Harin always wants me near her.
There was a time when I heard a loud slam from the back of the room. I flinched and turned to look. I watched as rank B students kicked rank F students in the stomach. My eyes widen and I freeze. How is no one in this room helping her? Why is everyone just continuing their day like nothing? I got up to help, but Harin grabbed my arm. She smiled and shook her head.
“Don’t get involved. It’s just part of the game,” She beamed. I stared at her in shock. She tugged my arm harder causing me to sit down.
“It’s okay. As long as you’re with me… that will never happen to you!” She chirped and returned her attention to her assignment. I am speechless. I hear student F begging for them to stop. I shudder in fear.
-
Harin drags me by my arm to her secret hideout during break time. I sit on the high wooden crates and watch her light up her cigarettes. I widen my eyes in shock. So the hint of cigarette smell did come from her. How does a beautiful angelic face like her enjoy smoking? One of her hands holds her white and gold lighter, while the other grips a cigarette between two fingers. She sucks in the stick and breathes out. The smoke bothers me, but I watch her in awe. She looks at me with a playful glint in her eyes.
“Why are you staring at me like that? Are you shocked I smoke?” She laughs. I shake my head no. She walks closer to me til she can sneak her body between my legs and blows smoke into my face. I grimace at the scent. She chuckles and places her free hand on my chin. Her thumb gently grazes my button lip curiously before she pulls it down. She places her cigarette between my lips and nods her head.
“Suck.” She orders. I shake my head no which results in her gripping my chin harder. I wince in pain, but her face remains blank. Her wide dilated eyes stare back.
“Suck,” She repeats more sternly. I try to find a way to refuse, but with the way she looks… I decided to submit. My eyes gloss as I obey her. I wrap my lips around the tip of the cigarette while looking at her. I realize that something stirs in her every time I listen to her. She becomes flustered and watches closely as I suck in the deadly fumes. The smoke burns the back of my throat and I start coughing. Yanking the cig out, she places it back into her mouth and takes a short drag. She smiles with her dull eyes. Tears gather on the surface of my eyes as I come out of the cough. She places her free on top of my black skirt. She brings her face close to mine.
“I want to kiss you,” She hums. I immediately lean my face to the side to avoid her glossy lips. She grips my skirt in anger, her face remains emotionless, but her eyes express so much disappointment. After composing herself she fakes a smile.
“The harder you deny me, the more I want to break you,” She admits. My heart rate picks up at her confession. I gulp nervously. She decides to stop her action and removes herself from me. I suddenly feel guilty. I didn’t want to disappoint her. I didn’t want her to lose interest in me.
“I’m sorry,” I apologize. She crosses her free hand and waves her other hand that holds the cig.
“Get lost,” She concludes. I slide off the wooden crates and onto my feet. I wanted to say more, but with her back to my face, I couldn’t utter a sound. I lower my head and walk away. When I get close to the classroom door I accidentally bump into someone. I turn my head up to see who. It’s Sooji. She looks emotionless til she furrows her eyebrows at me. I feel guilty again.
“Sorry. I should’ve watched where I was going-“
“You smoke?” She questions. I widen my eyes and wave my hands timidly. I didn’t realize how the scent of cigarettes had stuck itself onto my clothes.
“N-no. It’s-“ I stop myself. I shouldn’t reveal Harin’s secret. It will ruin her image.
“These guys were smoking near my bus stop,” I lie. Sooji nods her head slowly. I smile at her because she took the lie. She takes a step towards the door but I stop her by holding her arm. She looks at me curiously. Her deep and emotionless stare reminds me of Harin. I lick my lips and avert my eyes to the ground.
“How do you feel about the game?” I ask, looking back up. Sooji grips her fist.
“...I hate the game. Whoever made the game is a psychopath,” She reveals. As she answers me I notice she’s staring past my head. I follow her gaze and see Harin walking over. She eyes my hand on Sooji’s arm and I self-cautiously return my hand to my side.
“Hi, Sooji!” She beams sweetly. Sooji doesn’t respond. Harin smiles widely with her teeth showing. A fake and numbing smile which I’ve seen many times before. She turns her attention to me and it makes me halt my thoughts.
“Hi, Y/N… Ready for class?” She chirps.
“Y-yes,” I reply, rubbing my thumb across my knuckles. She stares at me carefully before placing her hand on the door behind me. I cowardly under her pressure. Her body and the door trap me in between. I blush at her body heat against mine. I glance over at Sooji who is examining our interaction. I feel a wave of embarrassment run down my spine. Why is Harin doing this in front of her? It’s making me shy and… greedy. Harin chuckles darkly. She slides the door open and leaves me breathless. Sooji watches me silently with an unexplainable look. I turn to walk in the door without looking back.
-
I have rejected Harin’s kiss over and over and it has finally ticked her off.
“Aren’t you grateful you’re in grade A? If it weren’t for me, you would be in F,” She hisses, “Is this how you thank me? Do you need to learn your place?” Tears threaten to fall down my cheekbones. I can’t bear to look at her further. She looks evil. Her eyes are dilated and blank. She takes small steps forward which results in me walking backwards. She grabs my tie and slams me against the wall. I wince at the pain that spread across my back. She leans her lips to my ears. I push her shoulders, but she remains taking up my space and mind.
“Since you’re making yourself difficult for me… I have no choice but to make you rank F,” She sighs, “So that I can do anything I want to you.” I halt my movement to stare at her in fear. I am lost for words. Her true nature is revealing and it frightens me. She looks down to my lips and a sigh escapes hers. She looks back into my eyes. Lust clouds her mind.
“Stop,” I beg. She begins to lean her face in. I close my eyes as tears roll down. I hate it. I don’t want it. The classroom door suddenly slams open. Harin removes herself from me and I weakly collapse onto the ground. I look up to see Soojin walking in. She spares me one glance before walking to her seat. Ignoring us, she starts placing her notebooks and pens on the table. I wanted to get up and thank her for saving me from that, but I remained seated at the bottom of Harin’s feet. Harin remains emotionless and returns to her seat. She pulls out her phone and types something. Her posture is straight. I let out a sound of disbelief. She did all of that and can still act normal?
“What are you doing on the ground?” My classmates ask as they start flooding in.
“I dropped a pencil. It’s gone now,” I lie. They help me stand to my feet. I shuffle over to my seat. Harin ignores my presence and I feel a pain in my heart. I sit down quietly. I glance over her to see her emotionlessly staring at the board. Seo Doah, our class president, stands in front of the class.
“Today is the last Thursday of the month,” She says. I widen my eyes. Already? How is it already the end of the month? I look at Harin to see her lips curl into a small smile. Memories of her threatening my rank flood my mind.
“The 13th Pyramid game…starts now,” Doah announces. Shuffling sounds of students getting out the phones start. I reach for my phone with shaky hands. I press on the pyramid app and freeze. I have always placed Harin as my first vote and I assume she would do the same to me. There’s no way she would switch up now right? Just because I didn’t let her kiss me? I type down Baek Harin as my first. I look over to see that Harin had already finished. Her phone rests on the table as she crosses her arms. I quickly finish up my votes. After a couple more minutes, the voting officially ended. Doah looks at the results and hesitates. Her eyes glance at me for a second before she looks down again.
“The results are up. Please refresh,” She says. I hover my finger over the refresh button. Sounds of students mumbling amongst each other start getting louder. I press it. My eyes gloss in fear as I lift my head to look at Harin. I am grade F just like she said I would be. Suddenly I hear a loud whistle which makes me flinch. Three students grades B, C and D surround me like predators.
“I am surprised to see Harin’s pet drop from A to F!” Student B laughs. She strokes my hair like I am a dog. Student D pushes my textbooks onto the ground so she can sit on my desk. She tugs my chin and forces me to look at her.
“This is exciting. I always wanted to play with you,” She chuckles. Harin gently gets up from her seat and I beg her with my eyes to help me. She looks at the three students with a fake happy look.
“I don’t want to see any bruises or cuts on her, remember the rules,” She says. Student B giggles and pulls my head into her chest.
“Of course~” She chirps. Tears threaten to fall down my cheek. I feel so betrayed. I feel so lost. Harin’s talking about me as if it didn’t matter if they bully me. Did she not care? Am I just another toy? I clench my fist and try pushing the student's hands away from me.
“Harin please,” I beg. She ignores me and walks away from her desk. I am abandoned.
-
I grunt in pain as student D throws me against the basketball metal cart. She places her shoes against my stomach and leans her weight onto me. The softness of my stomach feels crushed under her feet. I claw at her ankles.
“Please stop,” I cry out. They have been bullying me for the past fifteen minutes since it was announced that I am ranked F. Student C laughs and leans down to level with my face. She brushes her thumb against my cheeks to wipe my tears.
“Awh is Y/N begging?” She pouts. She stands up and kicks the side of my stomach multiple times.
“Hey wait. Harin told us not to get her bruised,” Student B remembers. They stop their movement which allows me to suck in a breath. I groan in pain and roll aside in an attempt to run away from them.
“Oh shoot you’re right,” Student D worries.
“What are we going to do?”
“If Harin finds out… We’ll be in big trouble,”
“How about we-”
As they discuss amongst themselves, I pull myself to my feet using the metal cart. I bite my lips in pain to avoid making noises. I quietly walk myself towards the door. Suddenly a hand grabs my hair and pulls me back onto the ground. I let out a yelp.
“You thought you could just sneak past us?” Student B chuckles. She tugs my tie and slaps me across the face.
The bullying continued for another five minutes until they got tired and left me on the floor of the gym storage room. Finally, it is silent. I let out a shaky breath. Tears continue to roll down. I cry, but no sound comes out. I clench my jaw and pull myself off the ground. I drag myself to the door.
I bump into Sooji first in the middle of the soccer field. She has a notepad in her hands which indicates she’s running an errand for the professor. Her eyes soften when she notices my watery eyes.
“Sooji,” I start to sob. I face down to the ground in humiliation. My fist clenches to my sides and my body shakes uncontrollably. She drops the notepad and walks over. She places her fingers over the buttons on my shirt which have gotten loose during the bullying session. She fixes it as I continue to cry.
“T-thank you,” I sniff.
“I can help you. We can get rid of this game once and for all. If you want to join me… give me your phone,” She explains. With shaky hands, I grasp and pull out my phone. I wipe my tears with my sleeves.
“Can you really get rid of it?” I whimper. She looks deep into my eyes.
“Do you trust me?” She asks. The wind blows past my shoulders. I pause deep in thought. I would do anything to get rid of the F rank from my name. Desperation floods my veins. Without answering her vocally, I hand her my device and watch her type in her number. She hands it back to me.
“We’ll keep in contact secretly. I still don’t know who is running this game, but I have a hunch,” She discusses. She picks up the notepad.
“I’m going to leave so that people won’t get suspicious. I’ll message you soon,” She says before walking past me. I smile sadly and continue dragging myself to class. The pain in my stomach is starting to throb. As I walk up the stairs of the school building, I wince at each step. Sweat starts collecting on my neck. I take a break to catch my breath. This can’t be the reality I live in… I refuse. I hear footsteps which causes me to look over.
Harin.
She wears a beige sweater over the school's white button-up. Her neatly brushed hair rests on her shoulders. She has a bright smile on her face. She walks over and scans my body carefully. I feel small and dirty under her gaze. My white button-up has patches of dirt and shoe marks. My hair is messy and tangled. Her nose scrunches in disgust and my stomach flips. Do I look that bad?
“I’m sorry,” I don’t know why those words came out of my mouth. I don’t even know what I am apologizing for. My lips quiver in shame. She fakes a pout and leans close to my ears.
“Hang in there. It’s not your fault,” She whispers in venom. She takes a step away from me, but I clench onto her arm. She gasps in shock.
“Please help me, Harin. I will do anything,” I cry. She leans her face down and chuckles darkly. She tugs her arm away from me and my hand falls to my side. I stare up at her between my water eyelashes. She places her shoes on top of mine and presses down. An act of power.
“I’ll think about it. For now, I need to break you more,” She shrugs and walks away. Leaving me sobbing. As she walks away I feel my life crashing. No! Why is she leaving me? I need her! She is the answer to my escape!
“There you are~” I hear student B tease. I freeze in fear.
-
The bullying continues for five more days. Harin continues to ignore me. I watch as she laughs joyfully with her friends. I worry she has truly forgotten about me. I’ve started to accept my fate. The bruises and cuts on my body have gotten more intense.
I stare at myself in front of the PE locker room mirror. My button shirt is unbuttoned, exposing my bra and stomach. The bruises and cuts have started to become more visible. I rub my fingers across the bruise on my hip and hiss in pain. My under-eye bag has gotten darker. I have started to lose weight. I hug my body tight. The door swings open and I quickly cover my chest with my arms. I watch the culprit walk over using the mirror.
“What are you doing here?” Harin asks. I shake my head, unable to speak. She examines my exposed stomach and I see her eyes widen.
“What is that?” She points at my bruises. I stay quiet. She tugs my shirt and I try to push her hands away. She doesn’t stop til she successfully removes the shirt from my body. The cold air makes my skin prickle. She stares at my body and I blush in embarrassment. I have cuts and bruises all over. I feel ugly. I don’t want her to see me like this. She gently puts her hand over my cut and I hiss as she scraps her fingernail across it.
“Those fools… I told them not to leave a bruise or cut on you,” She fumes. She looks up to my watery eyes.
“I’ll fix this,” She promises. She picks up my shirt and helps me get into it. Then she hugs me. Her gentle and warm touches make me sob. I have not felt this in so long. She successfully broke me. I nervously clench my hands on her sweater. I want to hold onto her. I want to be in her arms forever. I feel safe. She removes herself from the hug. She smiles and cups my face. She brings her face close.
“Do you agree with everything I say? I can help you with this,” She asks.
“Yes. Please help me,” I beg. Her eyes dilate and she places a kiss on my forehead.
“Let's get you clean up.” Her gentle fingers help me the whole way. Once she sees that I am good, she tells me to come back to class.
I walk behind her as we enter the classroom. The room grows quiet and they stare at us. Harin looks around till she sees the three students that have been bullying me. She calls them over with a smile which they gladly obey. She suddenly pulls me forward with her hand on the back of my neck and rips the top of my shirt open. My collarbone is exposed, revealing a bruise. I blush at the stares of students on my skin.
“Didn’t I tell you not to leave a bruise on her?” Harin hums. The three students' eyes widen like a deer caught in headlights. Harin waits patiently with her fingers rubbing my neck. She waits to see what kind of lame excuse they are going to come up with.
“We left a bruise?! Oh my goodness I did not know! I promise we didn’t go hard. She must have done that to herself!” Student B urges.
“Is that true? Did you do this to yourself?” Harin asks me. Why is the attention back on me? I turn to look at the three students who stare at me with anger. I can tell they want me to lie or I would get punished worse. My fist clenches in frustration. All the days they have tortured me. They deserve to rot.
“They did this to me,” I fum. They stare at me in shock.
“I see,” Harin breathes. The three girls quickly bow down to our feet. I feel a sense of power seeing them at my feet.
“I order no one to touch Y/n from now on even though she’s an F. She’s mine,” Harin announces. I feel a gush of love flood all over my body. I’m hers. She told the whole classroom. I am not a secret. She saved me. I watch as she places her foot onto Student B’s hand. She applies pressure, causing the student to wince.
“As for you three. I have exposed your family's dirty company secrets to the world. This is what happens when you don’t listen to me,” She chuckles. The three students gasps and cry out, but Harin turns her attention to me. She buttons up my shirt and pats my cheeks.
“Let’s go to our seat,” She chirps. Her hands never leave my upper thighs the whole class time. Rubbing her thumb against the flesh of my inner thigh. She gives it a squish a couple of times and bites her bottom lip. Embarrassingly enough, I ignore the wetness that has built up between my legs. I am addicted to being hers.
“Come home with me today,” She whispers.
“Okay,” I breathe. She gives my thighs another squeeze. My body humiliatingly jerks up. I gently place a hand on top of hers. She raises an eyebrow. She wonders if I am planning to remove her hand, but I wasn’t planning that. In fact I start playing with her fingers. In awe at how smooth and long her fingers are. She allows me to play with her fingers.
-
“Ready to come home?” She asks me as she puts on her backpack. I put mine on and nod my head. I don’t know what she has planned, but I trust her. I want her to do anything to me and I would be thankful for it. She holds my hands and I feel my cheeks burn up. During the whole walk, she never let go. Students would stare, but I am glad they are. They need to know I am hers and, hopefully, in some way, she is mine. We wait by the road of the school and a black Mercedes pulls up. The driver comes out and opens the door for us. I agape in amazement. She is super rich. During the car ride, she distanced herself. She focuses her attention on her phone. I stay quiet, but I deeply crave her attention and touch. I distract myself by staring out the window. Twenty minutes pass and we start pulling up at a mansion. I gulp nervously.
“You live here?” I gasp. She laughs and pulls out a cigarette. In a quick motion, she flicks the lighter and lights the end of the cig. She smokes it and continues walking. I follow behind like a lost dog. She finishes about halfway before flicking it to the ground. She continues walking, I turn around to see a maid picking up the cig. The doors of the mansion open as she approaches. A few maid bows to greet us.
“Leave us alone for the rest of the day,” Harin orders. They quietly nod their heads and turn to exit. I stare around the building. The ceilings are tall and the windows expose large amounts of light in. The walls are pearl white and the chandelier glow. We end up in her room. I can tell by the scent that engulfed me when I entered. I stand awkwardly at the door, not knowing what to do. Harin walks to her closet and pulls out a pink bathrobe. She hands it to me and I blush.
“Go use my shower. I’ll be next door showering as well,” She explains. I stare at the robe.
“What? Do you not want to?” She questions slowly. I immediately shake my head.
“I do! I will do anything you ask,” I promise. She chuckles, her eyes dilating. She licks her lips and crosses her arms. She turns her body to the door and exits. I stand like a fool in the middle of her room before enter her bathroom and bite my lips. I slowly pull the black tie from my collar, staring at myself in her mirror; watching my fingers unbutton each button on my white shirt. I tug my black skirt down til it falls to my ankle. I turn my face away from the mirror and remove my underclothes then stepped into the shower. Once the water touches my skin I relax. I hum and close my eyes. The water relaxes my tense body.
Once I was done I walked out and wrapped myself in the pink bathrobe. I explore all her skin care products. With curiosity, I apply some to my face. The moisturizer sinks into my skin. I feel refreshed and clean. I walk out of the bathroom and see her sitting on her bed typing on her phone. With close inspection, it’s my phone she’s looking at. She’s in a white bathrobe. Her face lightens up when she sees me. She pats the empty side of the bed next to her. I shyly obey and crawl onto the bed. My knees feel the soft and smooth textures of her bed sheets. I sit next to her and play with my fingers. She places my phone on her bed desk and turns her attention to me. My face is already flustered red. She draws her fingers along my face. She drags her thumb across my bottom lip.
“I’ve been waiting to kiss you for so long,” She sighs. She tilts her head to stare at my eyes as she continues to play with my lips. My eyes feel heavy with lust. She gets in between my legs, her skin brushes against mine. She places her hands beside my head and leans in. She doesn’t ask for permission as she grazes her lips against mine as a test. Her lips are so soft and plump. I crave more. She returns to kissing me. I sigh in pleasure as her tongue brushes against mine. I wrap my arms around her neck to pull her closer. My mind is clouded with lust, I forget to breathe. She pulls away, leaving a trail of spit that connects us. She smiles sinfully. She bends to my ear as her hands explore my body underneath the robe.
“I broke you,” She chuckles. She nips my ear and I yelp. She laughs and brushes her tongue against the shell of my ear. She dips her face against my neck and grazes her teeth against it. She bites and I shut my eyes while wincing.
“Please be gentle,” I choke. She tugs my bathrobe open and cups her cold fingers around my chest. She pinches my nub harshly. My body thrashes and arches.
“I don’t want to,” She purrs. She starts sucking on my nibble. Her tongue rolls around it, coating her wet saliva all over. Every time she bites down I cry out. Tears start collecting in the corner of my eye. She glances at my teary eyes and her eyes soften. She leans up to gently kiss my temple. Her other hand sneaks between my legs.
“W-wait!” I gasp. She quiets me by leaving sloppy kisses on my lips. Her fingers play with my inner thigh, not touching my core. She pulls away, her eyes heavy and cheeks red. I stare at her between my legs. Her white robe fell off her shoulders, exposing her body. My thighs forcefully open between her hips. She leans back to look at me. My hair is displaced all over her pillow. My chest rose up and down fast. My cunt glistens and her mouth waters.
‘Let me in,” She blushes. I reach down to cover my cunt, but she jerks my hand above my head. Her skin rubs against my core and I grunt in embarrassment. She pepper kisses around my neck and ear.
“Let me make you feel good,” She purrs. I gasp for air when I feel her middle finger graze my wet cunt. She touches just the surface area and it leaves me sighing. She brings the finger to my face with a proud smile.
“You’re wet,” She breathes. She returns her fingers to the top of my cunt and refuses to move. She leans in.
“I am going to ask just one more time. Will you let me in?” Her eyes are dark. My train of thought is messed up. I can’t think clearly. She clouds my mind.
“Yes,” I finally choke out. She immediately rubs her two fingers against my clit. I arch my back and let out a cry. The humiliating sound of my wet core being played by her finger starts to sound louder. Suddenly she removes her fingers, allowing me to breathe. She kneels back.
“Take the bathrobe off,” She demands. I rub my wet eyes before obeying her. I tug the pink robe off me completely and the cold air tickles me. She takes off her white rub and I stare lustfully at her body. Her smooth skin and curves look so biteable. She places two hands on both my thighs and splits them apart wider. I widen my eyes when I see her lowering her face to my core. Her bare butt lifts up.
“H-harin!” I blush. She sticks out her tongue and licks a long drag up. I moan, putting the back of my hand against my mouth. She spreads my wetness and her saliva around my clit. She licks and sucks. My thighs shake around her head. I moan loudly. My hands go down to touch her head. She looks up at me between my thighs. I see her mouth glisten with my wetness. I breathe heavily. My hair sticks against my sweaty forehead and neck. She pushes my thighs apart further and licks harshly.
“W-wait! I- I am,” I can’t continue my sentence without moaning. Her tongue is so good against my core. I shove my hand against her head to push her away. I am too stimulated. I don’t know how much longer I can last. She leans away with a hard look on her features. She wipes her mouth with the back of her hand. She shoves her two fingers into my core. I cry out and thrash my body.
“Don’t push me away ever again,” She grunts between each thrust. Tears roll down my cheeks. Her long and skillful fingers plunge into me deep. I lean my head back into the pillow. I moan loudly which makes her smile. My legs fall onto her shoulders and she leans her body forward. She watches my features carefully; examining how my eyes close and my mouth opens wide to release sighs and moans.
“Harin.. Ah!” I cry. She continues abusing her fingers into me. Deep and fast. I knew I wasn’t going to last longer. I feel my walls clenching around her digits. My stomach feels funny.
“Agh! I am close!” She kisses my forehead. With a few more thrusts, I come to her hand. She lets me catch my breath against her ear. She removes her soaking fingers from my core. As she examines the wetness coating her finger, my phone rings. She looks at my phone on her side desk and watches how it vibrates against the wood. I turn my head over to see who is calling me. My heart drops.
Sooji is calling me.
Harin laughs bitterly, her eyes glinting with jealousy. I turn my body over and reach for my phone. My bare butt facing Harin. I fumble as I try to decline the call, but Harin presses her body against my back. She leans her mouth onto my ear.
“Answer it,” She hisses. She kisses my shoulders.
“What?” I blush. Harin rubs her hand down my back. She stops at my butt and slaps it. I flinch forward.
“Answer it and don’t moan,” I let out a breathy sigh. With shaky fingers, I click on the green answer button.
“Hello?” I ask. Harin plunges her fingers into me. I fall onto the bed with my ass up.
“Y/n, I am glad you answered. Are you free for the next five minutes?” Sooji asks. Harin thrusts harder as if she wants me to fail. I muffle my moans into the bed.
“Y-yes,” I choke out. Harin bites my shoulders and I let out a wince.
“Are you okay?” Sooji questions.
“Yes! Yes- Ah! I am okay,” I could feel myself losing control. I don’t know if I could keep my moans down with how Harin is abusing my cunt.
“Okay… I am wondering if you’re still on the same side as me. Do you want to take down the pyramid game?” Harin halts her movement which allows me to answer.
“I am not sure,” I breathe out. My mind is foggy.
“I found out that Harin is the creator of the game,” Sooji reveals. I freeze. I am lying here with Harin’s finger in me. The creator of this fucked up game. The game that broke me down til I am nothing but Harin’s submissive friend.
“I- I see…” I blurt. I can feel Harin breathing against my ear. I wish I could see her face.
“To remove the game, we must take down Baek Harin,” The clock ticks and I repeat the sentence in my head. Am I willing to take down Harin? The girl who saved me? The girl who would destroy the world for me? The girl who has her fingers resting in my soaking cunt? My wetness runs down my thighs.
“I can’t do that to Harin,” I finally answer. Harin feels her heart flutter.
“What? Why? This game caused you to-” Sooji’s voice gets muffled out by Harins.
“Good girl,” She purrs. I moan shamelessly. She starts to gradually increase her speed again. I buckle my hips against her finger. I sigh and pant against the bed sheets. Harin picks up the phone. She places it against her ear and smiles.
“Hi Sooji. Sorry, Y/n’s busy right now,” She chuckles before ending the call. She tosses the phone to the side, her eyes not leaving my body. She loves how my body chases after her digits. She loves hearing how I moan her name. She has broken me, but I have never felt more alive because of her.
🍯HONEYLATIONS’ MASTERLIST🍯
ITZY
YEJI
- Flashing your gf during an argument
- G!P Yeji x mean girl y/n (smut)
LIA
- Flashing your gf during an argument
RYUJIN
- I love you for you, Ryu (G!P Ryujin smut)
- Flashing your gf during an argument
- G!P Ryujin x fem!reader (smut)
- Ryujin x fem!reader smut
CHAERYEONG
- Flashing your gf during an argument
YUNA
- Flashing your gf during an argument
LESSERAFIM
SAKURA
- Over the limits(G!P Sakura smut)
CHAEWON
- Angry Pupu
- Chaewon x Aespa G!P reader (smut)
- Bully Chaewon x G!P reader (smut)
YUNJIN
- Let me be your Edward Cullen
- Loser Yunjin x fem barista!reader
- G!P Yunjin x fem model!reader (smut)
KAZUHA
- G!P Kazuha x fem!reader (Smut)
- Fake Dating (fem!reader) PT1
- Fake Dating (fem!reader) PT2 (G!P Kazuha smut)
EUNCHAE
AESPA
JIMIN
- Star of my night PT1 (G!P Reader)
- Star of my night PT2 (G!P Reader smut)
- Jimin x G!P reader (smut)
- G!P Loser vampire Jimin x fem!reader (smut)
AERI
- Aeri x G!P reader (smut)
MINJEONG
- G!P loser Minjeong x fem!reader (smut)
- G!P loser Minjeong x fem!reader (smut)
- G!P Minjeong x fem pornstar!reader (smut)
YIZHUO
- In The Right Place (G!p reader smut)
(G)-IDLE
MIYEON
- Miyeon x G!P reader (smut)
MINNIE
- All of your attention (smut)
SOYEON
YUQI
SHUHUA
IVE
GAEUL
YUJIN
- Flirts and punches
REI
WONYOUNG
LIZ
LEESEO
RUNEXT
JIWOO
- Uni student reader x uni student Jiwoo PT1
- G!P Uni student reader x Uni student Jiwoo PT2 (smut)
FUNA
- Uni sweethearts
CHANELLE
- Chanelle x bartender!reader
- G!P Chanelle x fem!reader (smut)
- G!P Chanelle x fem!reader (smut
- Chanelle x fem!reader (Uni au + smut)
JIHYUN
- Jihyun x fem!reader
PYRAMID GAME
JAEUN
- G!P Jaeun x fem!reader (smut)
SOOJI
DOA
- Doa x G!P reader (smut)
HARIN
- Harin x fem!reader smut (smut)